Hawthorne Animal Hospital, Ltd

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

Their facilities are top notch, their vets seem competent enough with regards to animal care, and they have good hours. Despite this, I give them a horrible rating because they employ the use of shady sales/psychological tactics to get customers to spend money on unnecessary tests/procedures. I have confirmed this with two other families I know who have brought their pets in to them to have health problems checked out. For instance, they are extremely liberal with the word "cancer" and attempt to instill in you a fear that your pet *may* have cancer, regardless of the conditions/symptoms presented by your pet, so that you will spend hundreds of dollars on unnecessary tests. Dog have a stomach ache? "Stomach aches are sometimes symptoms of cancer." Dog lethargic and not running around? "Lethargy and low energy are signs of possible cancer". I kid you not, within 3 minutes of talking with a vet, regardless of the condition, the word "cancer" will be mentioned as if it is part of their training to do so. Without skipping a beat, this is immediately followed by the vet talking about the various tests available and how much they will cost. This is the equivalent of me going to the doctor with a fever/cough and having the doctor tell me that I need to have x-rays and tests for cancer before being diagnosed. Give me a break... At this point, the vet will leave the room (possibly watching you on the cameras they have mounted in the ceiling in each room) to let their fear-mongering work its way into your mind. If someone starts crying at the thought of losing their pet to "cancer", someone dressed as a clown (too much makeup, strange hat, bright colors) comes in to "comfort" you and ask what the problem is (as if they dont know whats going on) before leaving to find the vet. If your common sense in intact when the vet returns, you will make simple inquiries as to other possible diagnoses, at which point common sense appears to return to the vet (i.e. they realize you havent been fooled into paying for cancer tests) and they offer up much simpler diagnoses and simpler/easier/cheaper solutions. "Oh, its possible that your dog ate a bad plant in the yard, just give it some time and a lot a water, maybe some antacid for the upset stomach." "Oh, its possible that your dog just has a pulled leg muscle, just take it easy for a few days. Here are some pain pills." The swiftness in which it turns from "possible cancer" into "your dog ate something disagreeable" is as ridiculous as the initial "possible cancer" diagnosis, and makes it clearly evident that it is all part of their sales routine. I get that its a business and that businesses need to be profitable, but trying to scare your customers into paying for unnecessary tests is disgusting. Ill finish this review by saying that neither my pet, nor my friends pets, have cancer. The problems they were eventually determined to have were much less serious and easily/cheaply treatable, despite the initial diagnoses of a "strong possibility of cancer". Go to Hawthorne if you must...just be aware that they will see you and treat you as a sales target, not just a concerned pet-owner.

A

A Private User

I just returned from yet another unbelievably frustrating vet visit. I had my bulldog puppy neutered and his nares widened. The cost of the nare widening surgery was twice what I was quoted, and when I asked for an explanation (maybe Id misunderstood, and the price was actually per nostril), I was led into a back room and told an nurse would be with me shortly. My groggy, bloody puppy and I waited for 15 minutes, no nurse came, and eventually the receptionist came back in, showed me another price sheet, and said, "Thats what it costs. Ill have someone call you later." The discrepancy in cost isnt that huge of a concern, but being hidden from public view and then not being given any explanation was just bad customer service. The kid who finally brought me my puppy couldnt give me any additional information about drug side-effects, post procedure care, or even where the micro chip was placed. When I asked about the chip placement, he roughly pinched my dogs shoulders, and then shrugged. My dogs surgery took place at approximately 10am, and he was still bleeding profusely when I picked him up. No one could explain why that might be. I was not allowed to meet with the vet or a nurse. As I said, this is the second time I received inadequate information from this facility. A few months ago, a vet prescribed a steroid for a mild ear infection. I asked if there were any side effects I should watch for, and he said, "Not really. You shouldnt see any." After starting the steroid, my normally playful puppy didnt move from his bed for nearly two days. It took over 8 hours for someone from the vet to call me back, and then it was a receptionist who thought I had a question about when to give the medicine. I again never got to speak to a vet, and no one would answer my questions about how serious this side effect may be. I had great experiences with a few of the receptionists and with Dr. Helmers, and I do think that Dr. Myer is likely a competent surgeon, but I will never take any pet of mine back to this hospital. The prices are quite a bit higher than anywhere else in the area, which I would be happy to pay if the quality of service were better.

JO

John C.

We brought our 15 year old Chihuahua in a couple days ago because she had trouble breathing and couldnt stand up on her own. We knew she had heart failure but we were doing our best to help her enjoy the life she had. We arrived at Hawthorne and they took her back and put her on oxygen. The nurse met with us and we gave her the symptoms she had. A few minutes later we met with Dr. Nathan Jurgena. He told us he had a gut feeling she had a heart failure, which we already knew, but wanted to do an xray. We knew she was suffering and we didnt want to put her though the torture. The doctor however prescribed 3 medications for her: Lasix, Vetmedin and Enalapril. He said it would improve her breathing and be able to cope with everything. We asked him if it would improve her overall problem and he didnt have a response. We didnt want to prolong her life if it was going to cause her to suffer. Hawthorne doesnt see it that way. A few moments later a nurse came in and went over the options we had. We could pay $1000 to have her stay at the hospital over night and to monitor her and give her medication. The 2nd option was to take her home and give her injections and the medications. We chose to take her home and spent $600 for the two hours we were there. After returning home, we gave her the medications and it made her worse. She was basically paralyzed and her breathing was going downhill. My wife slept with her by her side all night crying because we didnt think she was going to make it. She couldnt even eat or drink water let alone take the 3 pills they prescribed her to take. We ended up having to put her down the next day. Its been a very emotional day for both of us. The question we have is, why wouldnt the doctor be up front and honest with us and tell us from the beginning that she wasnt going to make it? Instead we ended up paying $600 for medication/treatment that made her worse. Even when we left, the clerk was making jokes on how much money we owed. This place is highway robbery and for a family that is dealing with an old and sick pet, its unacceptable.